Friday, September 30, 2011

Friday Hound Blogging

OK it's a link because they won't let us embed it. Why is that do you think? It's almost like they know what we're going to do with it, no? Who says the overlords are clueless dweebs with hearts the size of neutrinos?

Oh yeah, us.

Well, whatever. If you click on the link and head over to overlord tee vee central you'll see the the subject of today's program is Greyhound Welfare. Yay!

See, everybody knows racing greyhounds are highly trained, superior athletes who represent a sizable investment of time and resources by the overlords, so to perform at their best, their care must be top notch. Well, everybody except for these guys, but maybe they just didn't get the memo.

Anyway, let's go to the video tape: First up, housing. As you can see, greyhounds live in clean well lighted climate controlled kennels that are in good repair. Now we know the more cynical and disbelieving of you out there may be thinking this is a set up to promote one particular fiction in a whole industry of fictions about the way greyhounds are treated in the kennels, but we assure you this represents an accurate portrayal of life at the track. Don't believe us, just ask Harold Williams.

The revocation of Harold Williams’ license came after his Florida
license was taken away in the wake of an investigation at a Panhandle
dog track kennel, racing Commissioner Mike Box said.Washington County Sheriff’s Deputy Steve Russ initially could not
enter the Florida kennel because the stench was overwhelming, he wrote
in one of the reports.When an officer with a breathing
device walked through the kennel, he saw dead dogs in cages and plastic
bags. Five dogs were still alive, according to the reports.

Oops, heh heh. Looks like Harold didn't get the memo either. Don't these people check their e-mail?

All right, so some elements of kennel life may not be perfect, but at least the dogs live in roomy crates where, as the narrator says, they are able to stand up, sit, turn and lie down without difficulty. Why is a roomy crate so important you ask, well mostly because the dogs will spend upwards of 22 hours a day in there, but it's not so bad because, as you can see from the video, occasionally they get a dog biscuit. Like we said, top notch care.

Which brings us to diet. Now, to perform at their best racing greyhounds' food must be "healthy" and "nutritious" as the narrator says which is why greyhounds are fed 4d meat which, as our narrator so helpfully points out, is also in commercial dog foods, except that in those foods the meat is cooked whereas greyhounds get it--again as our narrator points out--raw. For those of you uninformed viewers out there who might think this could be a problem for the greyhounds, it really isn't. At least once you get by the Salmonella infections and whatnot.

Tipsy is laid back and easy going. He also likes to play and has a lot
of energy for a senior dog. He is friendly and affectionate. He will
approach to have his ears scratched. He smiles when it is supper time.
Tipsy would do well in a working family home with older, well-mannered
children, 10 and up. He is good with other dogs of all sizes and would
probably be fine as an only dog. For more information about this dog,
and other rescued racing greyhounds looking for homes, go here. If you don't know about the plight of racing greyhounds go here.